Combining philosophies of Dargan and Descartes

You know, for the record, I was not very good at Latin. Virginia Stephens, my language teacher at Boonsboro, tried her best to teach me Latin, but nothing worked.

“Dargan linguistics is a difficult barrier,” she must have concluded.

When I got to the precursor of Mount Saint Mary’s University and embraced my philosophy classes, I did learn a few verses of Latin.

For instance, "cogito, ergo sum" translated means, “I think, therefore I am." It was a phrase made popular by the French philosopher Rene Descartes.

Descartes simply concluded that since we are "thinkers" it must verify our existence; "I think, therefore I am."

As such, when I go about my readings in various venues, I often discover there is more to examine than the obvious.

As a thinker, I learned my analytics at the Mount back in 1972, and besides, Dargan folk were always a little skeptical of those who always seem to have all the answers to all the questions.

It was quite obvious to a Dargan kid that many aspiring Einsteins were often a wee bit delinquent in their assumptions.

I have come to realize too that everyone has opinions, but many make little sense because of personal biases, likes and lack of evaluative analysis.

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Sometimes a Dargan Boy’s sole existence in this life is merely to encourage thinking and take you on a stroll far beyond your fenced yard of beliefs where truth and reality are seldom found in the tall grass of your surroundings.

Wow! I’m beginning to sound like Rod Serling of "The Twilight Zone."

For example, I remember tucking away a few observations about clocks I once read. "A man with one watch knows what time it is, but a man with two watches is never quite certain."

"Even a clock that doesn’t work is right twice a day."

It must be the same with thinking.

So let us ponder a few of my readings from last week to see how you think, and perhaps I can determine the true nature of your timepiece.

"Do you mind if I strap your iPhone to my forehead so I can pretend you’re looking at me when you talk?" or is technology tearing away our social fabric?

"Is it better to walk alone, than going with a crowd in the wrong direction?" What might Descartes say about the search for truth in this scenario?

"Is it voter suppression to ask each voter to be an American citizen?" What do you thinkers really think?

"The difference between humans and animals: animals would never let the dumbest ones lead the pack." This is an astute observation of our lowly evolved friends.

As George Carlin said, "Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups."

Does the majority always get it right? Or is that the reason our founders chose a republic instead of a rudderless democracy?

"You don’t see faith healers working in hospitals for the same reason you don’t see psychics winning the Powerball lottery."

Here's a message from Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk:

"Waking up this morning, I smile:

"Twenty-four brand new hours before me.

"I vow to live each moment fully

"And to look at all beings with eyes of compassion."

I have surmised that this is an honorable approach to living.

Defund the police? Why not defund the criminal? Take their illegal drugs; illegal guns; require education and work experience as part of their incarceration; hold parents accountable, and build some more education centers to confine criminals; let’s not use that term prison anymore; let’s replace it with "refined confinements for learning."

"Respect people who wear glasses; they paid money to see you."

Perhaps humans could see more correctly if they would remove their blinders.

Corey Brooks, an African-American pastor, sat on a high Chicago rooftop for a 100-day vigil to examine the problems in his city and pondered this question: ‘What has Black Lives Matter done for Chicago communities? It seems like Pastor Brooks is searching for honest answers to his city’s woes.

"Remember back when we used to eat cake after someone blew all over it? Maybe we should reexamine this tradition."

“It’s only the second week in January and I’m already in need of a full body massage, four days of sleep and a trip to the Bahamas,” said my Fulton County nurse friend. She was overwhelmed by the pandemic and those large numbers ignoring the truth to avoid hospital stays.

Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon and the truth, suggested the Buddha.

"I think, therefore I am," added the French philosopher.

And "Truth is for sure elusive," said a Dargan Boy.

Let us continue our search.

Peace!

Lloyd "Pete" Waters is a Sharpsburg resident who writes for The Herald-Mail.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Combining philosophies of Dargan and Descartes offers ideas to ponder